HC calls officials to interact on Kushak drain clean-up

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked senior officials of three civic bodies and the AAP government's urban development department to be present before it next month for an "interaction" on how to clean up the Kushak drain under the Barapullah flyover.The court said it wanted the senior officials of the four authorities to be present before it together on the next date of hearing so that there is "no passing of the buck" among them.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao issued the direction after noting that various orders of the court to clean up the drain "were not being implemented in letter and spirit" and the time frame to do the work was not being complied with.
The court asked the engineer-in-chief of the Public Works Department (PWD) and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), the Member (Water Supply) of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and Principal Secretary of Urban Development Department to be present before it on December 11, the next date of hearing.

The bench ordered all the senior officials to go through all the previous orders before coming to court, so that "meaningful compliance" with the court's directions can be ensured. The court said it will also consider setting up a committee to monitor the laying down of timeline for the implementation of the court's repeated directions to clean up the drain, which is located near South Extension-II.

The bench made it clear that in future if there was non-compliance of its directions, these senior officials would be held liable for it. The court noted, during the brief hearing, that civic work was getting delayed in some areas due to "inter se problems between PWD and municipal corporations".

The bench was hearing a PIL petition initiated by it on its own in 2012 to clean up the drain after debris and garbage in 'Kushak nullah' had led to water logging of South Extension-II and surrounding areas during monsoons. Since 2012 the court has been issuing directions from time to time to clean up the drain and the PWD had on several occasions assured that it will remove all debris and garbage from the 'nullah' after construction of the Barapullah flyover was completed.

Since the deadline given by the agency to carry out the work kept getting extended and debris as well as garbage continued to pile up in the drain, Manjeet Singh Chugh, a resident of the area, moved a plea in 2016 seeking contempt action against the officials concerned for not complying with high court's orders on the issue.
The court had in September termed as "unacceptable" and "deplorable" the condition of the Kushak drain and had directed the PWD to clean it up to ensure it does not become a mosquito-breeding ground.

Last Thursday, the Court had directed PWD officials of AAP government, who were responsible for ensuring compliance of its September 27 order, to appear before it on Tuesday and explain why action be not taken against them.